Everyone Is Really, Really ‘Offended’ By This SNL ISIS Skit And They’re All Wrong

This Saturday Night Live sketch about ISIS has ignited a hailstorm of controversy and it’s all so very, very stupid.

During the Super Bowl, Toyota rolled out an emotional television commercial titled “My Bold Dad.” The advertisement for the Toyota Camry has a tearful father driving his daughter to the airport so she can begin her career in the U.S. military.

Saturday Night Live used this commercial as their vehicle in this hilarious skit that pokes fun of the sudden and curious phenomenon of teenage girls leaving the families in the U.K. and U.S. to join ISIS. Fifty Shades of Grey star Dakota Johnson played the young girl leaving her daddy for the first time. SNL cast member Taran Killam plays the sorrowful father who is devastated to see his daughter go… join ISIS. A pick-up truck with Islamic State’s iconic black flag and three insurgents armed with machine guns, a mounted turret and an RPG pulls up.

“You be careful, OK?” the dad warns his daughter. Johnson replies, “Dad, it’s just ISIS,” and winks at her dad. Then as tears run down his face the father looks one of the ISIS fighters and says, “Take care of her.” The terrorist responds with a solemnly nod and replies, “Death to America.”

For Saturday Night Live this is an especially edgy skit and they pull it off perfectly. However not everyone found the humor in the sketch.

The skit didn’t mention the innocent victims getting beheading. The skit didn’t glamorize people joining ISIS. The skit is just a fucking skit. It was a “PARODY” video on a “COMEDY” show. This wasn’t on CNN or Fox News, it was on dopey Saturday Night Live. They were making a comedic parallel to a popular Super Bowl commercial with the sudden rage of young girls from Western societies leaving their families to help a terrorist organization’s attempt to take over the world.

Remember when you couldn’t go more than a minute without seeing #JeSuisCharlie rightfully plastered everywhere? That was less than two months ago. The entire world came to the defense of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, not because everyone supported the articles and cartoons that they were printing, but to defend their right to print it. Where did all that support for free speech go? We are such forgetful creatures.

I think comedian Kurt Metzger said it best when he gave a suggestion to those offended by the parody skit.

If you were deeply offended by that great SNL ISIS sketch, I urge you to go backpacking alone on the Syrian border. Bring bibles. — Kurt Metzger (@kurtmetzger) March 1, 2015

Join The Discussion

I agree that outrage over this sketch is absolutely idiotic. But, I can’t help be reminded that this is the same website that called Zach Braff a racist for comparing outfits that were clearly identical because one was worn by a monkey and the other Pharrell.